Upwind Handling & Performance

During a 2018 Southeast Regional roundtable discussion at Lake Eustis, the expert panel commented on heavy air boat speed. Jeremy Pape is not among the heavier sailors, but he is fast in breeze. He gave us an insight about the need…

I grew up sailing lasers and love having at least four sets (of mainsail telltales). Most sailors think this is overkill, but I think more information on the wind flowing thru the sail only can help. Rob Seidelmann, perennial MC…

Racing sailboats rarely function at better than 85% of their optimal upwind performance, even when managed by experts. This failure is due to the additional drag caused by inappropriate sail trim.Stuart Walker, A Manual of Sail trim Stuart Walker’s statements about…

A well-sailed boat can develop a great speed advantage; … so it is not unusual to see the largest race-winning leads developed in the lightest of conditions. Greg Fisher in When the Going Gets Light. . . Sitting on the low…

You need a huge range of mainsheet tension to be fast in all conditions, especially in boats with bendy masts. – anonymous fast scow sailor Want to go faster upwind? Your biggest opportunity may be to pay more attention to…

You probably don’t want to imitate the picture above, but you can raise your sailing game if you learn to hike harder and smarter. Hiking takes effort, but by being fit and using proper technique you can get better results…